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Mine is the 1971 printing inscribed to my mother from Helen, her mother-in-law (my paternal grandfather's third and final wife, whom we disliked). Helen was a pretentious cook who liked to show off - she thought of herself as a cultured Southern belle living a romantic drama - she had her bad poetry published by a vanity press. My mother was a modest homestyle cook from PA Dutch farm roots, who enjoyed baking birthday cakes. Helen gave this book to my mother to belittle her cooking skills. I do not believe my mother ever cooked from it. Mom's Betty Crocker cookbooks were used to tatters, and this Julia Child is clean and unmarked - no recipe clippings fluttering from between the pages.

Nonetheless, I have always liked Julia Child, her food, her TV show, and her story. It was not Julia's fault that my grandmother was a bitch.

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Julia Child was a famous American cook, author, and television personality who introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream through her many cookbooks and television programs. Her most famous works are the 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and, showcasing her sui generis television persona, the series The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.